LARGE SURPLUS

Taranaki Daily News, 2 April 1934, Page 5

LARGE SURPLUS

BRITAIN’S FINANCIAL YEAR TRUE SAVING OF £42,000,000 RESULT MOST REMARKABLE BETTER THAN ANTICIPATED FLOATING DEBT REDUCTION (British Official Wireless). Rec. 5.5 p.m. Rugby, March 31.

Britain’s financial year ended to-night with a net surplus of revenue over expenditure of £31,147,860. This remarkable and satisfactory figure is reached after allowance has been made for payments in respect of war debt to the United States of £3,304,392 and for £7,749,868 set aside for a new sinking fund. The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Neville Chamberlain) in last year's Budget anticipated a surplus of only £1,300,000, without making provision for these payments. He had anticipated a revenue of £698,800,000 and expenditure of £697,500,000. Returns issued to-night show that the revenue amounts to £724,567,149 and the expenditure (including the payments mentioned above) to £69,419,289, The true saving compared with Budget estimates is therefore approximately £42,000,000, although this figure is swollen by certain “windfall” items. The Budget estimated a receipt from income tax of £228,750,000 and this has been almost exactly realised. Surtax has produced £52,500,000, an increase of £1,500,000 over the estimate. Estate duties estimated to produce £74,750,000 have in fact produced £85,250,000, having been swollen by an exceptionally large amount from a single estate. Customs and excise receipts very largely exceeded expectations. They were estimated at £269,000,000 and actually produced £286,000,000. Post office nett revenue at £13,100,000 is £1,500,000 more than was expected. On the expenditure side the charge for national debt interest was estimated at £224,000,000, excluding statutory sinking funds, which it was expected would be met from borrowed moneys. Actually the charge for interest and management has amounted to only £213,000,000, thus leaving a margin within the fixed debt charge of £11,000,000, out of which it has been possible to make a token payment of £3,250,000 to the United States and sinking fund payments of £7,750,000. As regards supply services the Budget estimates and supplementary votes totalled'£466,soo,ooo, but thanks to savings the actual exchequer issue amounted to £458,750,000. The floating debt now stands at £844,750,000, made up of £799,810,000 in Treasury bills and £44,900,000 in ways and means advances. As the corresponding total a year ago was £810,455,000 the figure shows an increase of £34,250,000. But during the year the floating debt was increased by the issue of £200,000,000 to the exchange equalisation account, against which assets to a corresponding amount are held, so that apart from this item there has been a reduction in the floating debt of £165,750,000 in the year.